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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

On September 11, 2011, SCS Energy California, acquired the Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) project, and determined that the information needs of all the parties, agencies, and the public would be served best by submitting an AFC Amendment which incorporates all the unchanged information from the early proceeding as well as detailed information regarding the project refinements, including turbine selection, the addition of an integrated fertilizer production plant, and the addition of a rail spur for use in coal and pet-coke deliveries and transporting the nitrogen-based fertilizer, degassed liquid sulphur, and gasification solids.

On July 31, 2008, Hydrogen Energy International, LLC filed an Application for Certification (08-AFC-8) for an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power generating facility called Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) in Kern County, California. Because of problems with habitat for endangered species in the original location for the project, the company retracted the original AFC. The company filed a revised application on May 28, 2009, for the same project to be built at a different location. This Amended application, filed on May 2, 2012, presents all project modifications, site and linear facility refinements, and integrates all previous relevant information from the above two filings into a complete new document, the AFC Amendment.

The project, as proposed, would gasify blends of petroleum coke (25 %) and coal (75%) to produce hydrogen to fuel a combustion turbine operating in combined cycle mode. The gasification component would produce 180 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of hydrogen to feed a 400 megawatt (MW) gross, 288 MW net combined cycle plant providing California with dispatchable baseload power to the grid. The gasification component would also capture approximately 130 MMSCFD of carbon dioxide (or approximately 90 percent at steady-state operation) which would be transported and used for enhanced oil recovery and sequestration (storage) in the Elk Hills Oil Field Unit. The HECA project would also produce approximately 1 million tons of fertilizer for domestic use.

Energy Commission Facility Certification Process

The California Energy Commission is the lead agency (for licensing thermal power plants 50 megawatts and larger) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has a certified regulatory program under CEQA.
Under its certified program, the Energy Commission is exempt from having to prepare an environmental impact report.
Its certified program, however, does require environmental analysis of the project, including an analysis of alternatives and mitigation measures to minimize any significant adverse effect the project may have on the environment.